10 Plausible Sports Conspiracy Theories

Joe Flacco, No. 5 of the Baltimore Ravens, looks on during the power outage in the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVII against the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans in 2013. Some Ravens players think the blackout happened on purpose. Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images

Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans was a tale of two games: before the blackout and after the blackout.

The Baltimore Ravens dominated the San Francisco 49ers in the first half, and extended their lead in the opening minutes of the second half with a 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, making the score 28 to6 [source: Yasinskas].

Then, to the shock of the fans in the stadium and the worldwide TV audience, the lights went out in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. For nearly 35 minutes, stadium officials struggled to regain power. Meanwhile, players shuffled around the field, unsure of when the game would resume.

Some Baltimore players immediately jumped to conclusions. "They're trying to take our momentum," Baltimore safety Ed Reed remembers his teammates grumbling. And that's exactly what happened. When the lights came back on, it felt like a totally new game, with the 49ers rallying for 17 points in only 4 minutes and almost stealing the 2013 Super Bowl away from the stunned Ravens [source: Yasinskas].

An investigation determined that either a malfunctioning switch or an incorrect electrical setting was to blame for the blackout, but that didn't stop the conspiracy theorists [source: Hanna]. Former Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis still insists that it was a ploy by NFL management to halt a potential blowout.